buck fever

See synonyms for buck fever on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. nervous excitement of an inexperienced hunter upon the approach of game.

  2. any nervous excitement preceding a new experience.

Origin of buck fever

1
An Americanism dating back to 1835–45

Words Nearby buck fever

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use buck fever in a sentence

  • This was the worst case of buck fever that I have ever had and I do not care to ever experience a case of that kind again.

    Fifty Years a Hunter and Trapper | Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock
  • Now, I will tell you of another case of buck fever from a cause entirely different from that just related.

    Fifty Years a Hunter and Trapper | Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock
  • I am not subject to buck fever, and was disgusted to find myself so badly "rattled" that I could scarcely handle the rifle.

    Woodcraft and Camping | George Washington Sears (Nessmuk)
  • "I'll bet you'll get buck fever the first time you come across it," chuckled the Head Chief.

    Two Little Savages | Ernest Thompson Seton
  • There was no buck fever about him now, and, when his rifle cracked, the deer bounded into the air and dropped down dead.

    The Young Trailers | Joseph A. Altsheler

British Dictionary definitions for buck fever

buck fever

noun
  1. nervous excitement felt by inexperienced hunters at the approach of game

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012